Influence of School Language Policy on Teaching and Learning of English in Public Primary Schools in Homa-Bay Sub-County, Kenya
Abstract
This study sought to assess the influence of language policy on teaching and learning of English in selected primary schools in Homa-bay Sub-County Kenya. A speaker tends to choose language fairly, quickly and automatically without being aware of the determiners of language choice. There is a great impact on the use of the first language in teaching and learning of English and it is a common practice that most teachers of English use to convey a complete notion or an idea while teaching or communicating. The study was conducted in the 93 sampled primary schools. Data was collected through the observation schedule, interview schedule and the questionnaire. The study was guided by Stephen Krashen’s Model of second language acquisition. This study adopted a descriptive design. Data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results revealed that most schools have language policy, however, there functionality is indeterminate. Formulation and implementation of school language policy is mainly undertaken by language teachers however, school administration plays key rule during its implementation. School language policy moderately influenced teaching and learning of English. The study recommends that the school administration should come up flexible and functional school language policy where all teachers are tasked with its implementation. The ministry of education should consider upgrading seminars and workshops to continuous Teacher Development Programmes as they go a long way to address the challenges the teachers face during implementation of the national and language policies.
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